As I enter a very busy weekend – I just wanted to write a post to say how very thankful and grateful I am for the many blessings in my life at the moment!  This is not a full-on wedding post and most of you know I don’t post personal stuff that often on this blog!  So feel free to ignore this post and get ready for next week!

Above is my beautiful new nephew Thomas Van Veen, III – Future Photographer and Currently Cute Little Buddy!  I am loving being in Auntieland!

Please excuse my blackberry photo – but this is just a quick photo I took of a corporate event floral design we did earlier this week.  Without doing much marketing – we have really been doing more corporate event florals over the past couple of months.  This event was really fun since we used blue hydrangea mixed with pin-cushions to give a fun nautical feel to the flowers for this particular organization.  We love doing corporate events – this was a simple one but fun!

Last weekend I had the privilege of having my first book signing in Maryland at the Baltimore Bride Aisle Style Event.  I sold a lot of books that day – but also just got to meet some really lovely people!  Hoping to have a book signing in DC soon and I will make those announcements soon!  Stay tuned next week for photos from the event!

Have a great weekend…we can’t wait to show you photos from the events we have planned for this weekend!

Cheers!

Don’t forget to stop by our booth at the

Katie will be signing her second book (The Everything Wedding Book) and you can learn all about Elegance & Simplicity, Inc.’s Services.

See you Sunday!

To learn more about the event – click here.

We are excited to announce that Katie will be doing a book signing at Baltimore Bride’s Aisle Style Event on March 20th!

Don’t Miss it!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/baltimore-brides-aisle-style-book-signing-with-katie-martin/feed/ 0 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/here-come-the-moms-same-sex-weddings/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/here-come-the-moms-same-sex-weddings/#comments Wed, 24 Nov 2010 06:01:24 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=4085 We are excited about our recent feature on the Wedding Podcast Network.  An in-depth look at how parents should be involved in the wedding planning process for same-sex couples.  If your daughter or son is LGBT and you are not sure what you need to do during the wedding planning process – this podcast is for you.  Both Bernadette Coveney Smith (of 14 Stories) and I were interviewed on the Wedding Podcast Network about the subject of Same-Sex weddings and family issues. Bernadette is the leading national gay wedding planner and I have a section in both of my books on how to plan your same-sex wedding.  This radio podcast keeps it real as we talk about the emotional aspects of planning a wedding for your gay or lesbian child. Supporting your children is imperative and I think this podcast can help all parents open the door to understanding and learning about same-sex weddings.  Click on either of the two images below to hear the podcast!

IT’S HERE!!!

My second book The Everything Wedding Book, 4th Edition is here!  I am so excited to finally have the paperback in my hands!

The book is currently available for pre-sale as well on Amazon – click here to see how to pre-order!

Are you engaged and want a comprehensive guide to planning your wedding?  Let me know what your initial plans are in the comments section below and I will give away one copy next week!

Cheers!

The final galleys have come in for my second book!  Stay tuned to win a copy as it should be on bookshelves in November or December!

I am excited to be on the Wedding Podcast Network again!  This time around, I am giving wedding planning advice from my first book the Mother of Bride based on her second book the Everything Mother of the Bride Book!

Click here to hear the interview – perfect for both brides and their moms to listen to and to get a taste of what the book is all about!  You can also learn how to win a copy of my book!

Happy Planning!

I will be at the Aveda in Georgetown talking to brides about how to go green on your wedding day along with Adele Wechsler and Aveda.

Get a signed copy of my book and check out Adele’s new line!

Persephone from Polished Image & Style will be there to help you find your perfect dress as well!

Check out the details below!

Happy Planning!

I have a few interviews coming up for my Everything Mother of the Bride Book (be on the lookout) – but I wanted to share my excitement with you about my second book that will be hitting bookshelves in the fall!  I have revised the number one selling Everything Wedding Book for an updated and fresh look at today’s wedding planning.  I am excited about all the research I did for it for multi-cultural weddings, interfaith weddings, gay weddings and of course, eco-friendly weddings.  Lots of deletions and additions had to be done in order to make this fourth edition happen – it is a project I have been working on for almost one year!

I just got the cover last week and I am working on the final edits with my publisher over the next two weeks.

Then…I can finally concentrate on writing Eco-Beautiful Weddings – The Book!

Once I know pre-sale dates – I will let you know!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/my-book-on-wedding-aces/feed/ 1 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/summer-bouquets-yellow/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/summer-bouquets-yellow/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:00:22 +0000 Chris Easter http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=2708

Summer is just around the corner and yellow is such a hot color right now.  I have had three different magazines contact us for yellow bouquets and we had a great yellow ETSY feature in the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Spring 2010 edition!  I see yellow everywhere now!

So – I figured I would just post a few of my favorites today.   I also had someone from twitter specifically ask about yellow flowers – so here they are!

We love gathering yellow pin cushions – so much fun!   One of my favorite flowers!

We added pin cushions to calla lilies, billy balls, carnations and then red aspidistra leaves for this wedding.  The carnations are not a typical addition but added a fluffy pop to this quirky bouquet.

I am a huge fan of adding rosemary to bridal bouquets as a sign of fidelity along with the luxurious smell it adds.  This bouquet was so aromatic with the rosemary mixed with freesia, roses and mini calla lily accents.

This is one of my favorite bouquets that might actually end up in my 3rd book: Eco-Beautiful Weddings (not the magazine – yes an actual printed book)!  I feel like it is taking me forever to write it!!!!  I love this bouquet for its simplicity with billy balls, hybrid double Dutch tulips and a green hypericum berry collar.  We also used a Hannah hand-dyed silk ribbon to match the blooms!  Simply yummy.

This is just a simple and rustic bouquet filled with yellow ranunculus and ornithologum.  Even though it is a simple-looking bouquet – it was a relatively difficult bouquet to make as ranuculus is a soft-headed flower.  I also wish she would have let me cut the stems – but that is just me and my ridiculous type A personality.  It totally went with the backyard charm she was going with!

You have probably seen this bouquet.  It goes with the last bouquet (from the same wedding) that was featured in the Washingtonian this year.  I had so much fun with this wedding! Billy balls with a white dahlia – ahh simplicity at its finest!

What color would you like to see next?

Here are the finalized dates for the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Tour for Wedding Professionals!

Cincinnati – May 11, 2010

Savannah – June 3, 2010

Los Angeles – July 6 , 2010

San Diego – July 7, 2010

San Francisco – July 8 , 2010

In each city, the seminar with be followed by lunch and a photoshoot!  The photos will be used either in my 3rd book Eco-Beautiful Weddings or in a forthcoming issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine and the blog!*

Actual seminar locations are being kept secret and will be sent to you the week of the event in order to reduce the amount of information that is released before the book is published.

Each seminar participant will receive a free copy of my first book: The Everything Mother of the Bride Book!*

Early Registration begins today and will end on March 7th!  All current registrations are $200, but the price will go up to $250 on March 8th!*

Sign up today to take advantage of the early bird registration!

If you are currently an Eco-Beautiful Weddings Vendor or Green Wedding Consortium member – you can take advantage of an additional 10% off.  Email me and I will send you the code!

I will post possible other cities if interest comes up!  Only 25 participants are allowed into each seminar!

See you soon!

Katie Martin

*Please note that there will be no photoshoot or free books for the seminar in VA Beach as all proceeds from that particular seminar are being donated to charity and the seminar is only $40.

Today I am excited to announce the Everything Mother of the Bride Book + Eco-Beautiful Weddings Tour!

I received my box of books in the mail from my publisher and I got so excited – I knew today was the day to announce the cities that are finalized for the tour.  The schedule of the tour is still being worked through – but I wanted to give all of you a chance to vote on possible other cities to add to the list.  The best part of this tour is that all of the wedding professionals that participate in the tour will either end up in my 3rd book – Eco-Beautiful Weddings – or in the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine as a city feature!

My true goal and vision is to make all weddings green – all over the world. This year’s Eco-Beautiful Weddings Seminar tour is focused on cities in the United States and Canada.  The tour is two fold with the introduction of my 1st book to brides and mothers along with Eco-Beautiful Weddings seminars for wedding professionals.

Here are the cities:

Washington, DC – March

Virginia Beach, VA – Wedding Week – March 25th

All proceeds from my seminar at Wedding Week in VA Beach will be donated to charity! For details about this seminar for professionals – click here and to purchase tickets – click here!  This is a very exciting week as I will be speaking alongside Diann Valentine, Preston Bailey, Sasha Souza, Preeti Shah, Donnie Brown and fellow DC Planner Andre Wells!)

Richmond – April

New York City – April

Boston – April

Toronto – May

Cincinnati – May

Chicago – May

Savannah – June

Orlando – June

Los Angeles – July

San Diego – July

San Francisco – July

I will follow up with dates – but I wanted to hear from you about any other cities that you would like to see on the tour.  Here are a few other cities that people have asked me about – VOTE FOR YOUR CITY!:

Atlanta

Austin

Denver

Minneapolis

New Haven or Hartford

Nashville

New Orleans

Philadelphia

Portland

Raleigh

Seattle

A MAX OF 25 people will be allowed in each seminar.

Early bird registration will be $200 and then regular price will be $250. Once I finalize all of the dates – I will post them on the blog.

I am eager to see many of you post about which city you are in!

The book signing with Q & A will be free with purchase of the book (which is $9.95 in the US and $11.95 in Canada).  All Eco-Beautiful Weddings seminar participants will receive a free of copy of my book!

In a few select cities – we may actually do a special high tea for brides with their moms!  I will keep you posted about that!

In the meantime – leave a comment about where you are!

Happy Planning & Greening!

~Katie Martin

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/everything-mother-of-the-bride-eco-beautiful-weddings-tour/feed/ 4 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/the-everything-mother-of-the-bride-week/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/the-everything-mother-of-the-bride-week/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:02:27 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=2351 Get ready for an Everything Mother of the Bride Week!

My brand new book has made it to the warehouse for distribution to places like Amazon and Barnes and Noble!  I ordered a few to get them out to our favorite friends in the industry to review.  However, many of you have been wanting a signed copy for yourself.

I will put up pre-orders for my 1st book soon.  I expect to get my 1st shipment of books within this next week!

Soon I will be announcing the initial set of cities for my book tour which will include Eco-Beautiful Weddings seminars for wedding professionals!  Be sure to come back and vote for your city if you don’t see it on the list.  I will make room for a few extra cities on my calendar with enough votes.  Looking forward to meeting all of you in fantastic cities across the US and Canada!

Cheers!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/the-everything-mother-of-the-bride-week/feed/ 2 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/come-by-to-mandarin-oriental-today/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/come-by-to-mandarin-oriental-today/#comments Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:01:36 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=2128

Can’t wait to see you today at the Mandarin Oriental Today from 11:30 – 3.  Click on the image above to learn more about the event.  Yesterday was the last day to register online, but you can still come and register at the door!

A few of the prizes that we will be giving away:

One lucky winner will receive a coupon to receive a pre-launch and signed The Everything Mother of the Bride Book by Katie Martin!

We will also be giving away a bunch of books from Chronicle Books!

And now, if you click on their logo below, 20% of all the proceeds from the sale of books that you buy from their website between now and January 31st will be donated to the relief efforts in Haiti!  Plan your wedding and your life while helping others!

Here are the books from Chronicle that we will be giving away:

We {heart} Carolyn’s Anti-Bride Book Series – to learn more about Carolyn – check out her twitter page – @antibride! She will be with us in New York for the launch party!

HILARIOUS!

Destination Wedding Planner – A Fantastic guide for all of you on your way to far off places to wed!

Fortune Telling Book for Brides – so much fun!

Sweetie Stats – cute little pocket guide for a happy marriage!  ;-)

Thanks Chronicle!  Check out their facebook page by clicking here.  And of course – on twitter by clicking here!

Several other prizes like free bridal bouquets and discounts off our services will be given away as well!  Don’t miss it!

If you are not able to make it today – come to the bridal show on 2/6 (psst….we will be giving more books away and some of the most amazing bloggers will be there!)

Also – follow me on twitter (@greenwed) as I will try to tweet the details of our booth!

Happy Planning!

~Katie Martin

BUDGET

or

WHO IS PAYING FOR WHAT

The old fashioned wedding where the mother and father of the bride pay for everything and the mother gets to choose most of the things is certainly not dead but we do live in a different world now.  Sometimes the bride (or groom) has a higher income than the mother or the father combined or perhaps she’s from a divorced family…where the mother has remarried and so has the father.  So, who to listen to and how to make everyone happy is a very stressful situation for your child!   Whether it ends up that we (mother & father) pay, they (the couple) pay,  they #2 (the in-laws-to-be),  the mother only, the father only or any other the multitude of combinations one could think up pays for this wonderful event, here’s your chance to be the best mom in the world .   If she/he hasn’t already asked you, suggest that you and she (and groom if she insists) meet or schedule a conference call to talk about who pays for what before too many lists are made.

If she lives in a different city/town or if you know you physically can’t meet a lot, it just might be the best thing in the world for both of you to invest in Skype.    Skype voice and video calling, IM and SMS are now available for your pc, laptop, blackberry, and more importantly – the video calls are free!  Of course you need to buy the equipment:

Webcam and a headset (if they are not already part of your laptop or PC’s hardware):

So, how are these ‘delicate’ conversations discussed and decided upon?  In all likelihood, your daughter will have already thought about this before you two speak.   If not, then prepare yourself.  Buy a book (of course, I’m a little bit prejudiced here).

Before you meet with her, have a discussion with your husband (and/or ex) about where the money is going to come from?

Savings account for her wedding?

Refinance the house?

Sell a piece of property?

Ask the Uncle?

Make a list of what you really, really want to pay for and listen to her about what she wants you to pay for.  If your budgets say ‘not possible’, then be upfront right then and there.  On the other hand, if you want to pay for more, then suggest that to her.  She will let you know if that suggestion is welcomed or ‘just not gonna happen’.

First thing everyone (brides and grooms, mothers and dads) needs to decide is the approximate date.  A wise mom will suggest they chose 3-4 dates (in case something cannot be canceled or a favored venue is booked).

The time of the year can sometimes influence the cost of parts of the wedding.

Then, will it be formal or informal, maximum number of guests and attendants, if any.  Is this a wedding at the magistrate’s office?  Family only?

Or the closest 300 friends of the couple and parents.

Brides friends, groom’s friends, their friends.

Bride’s parent’s friends (could be 2 couples involved here).

His parent’s friends (could be 2 couples involved here, too).

You and your daughter (step-daughter) have many decisions to make – so try to be as gracious as possible and really listen to what the bride and groom want (and his parents).  If something is really, really important for her to include in the plans…just mention that ‘it would make you so happy if they could ….’  But please, please try to prepare your mind before each and every meeting about the wedding to

Listen

Use diplomacy (“oh honey, that sounds so fab… but XYZ… – what would you two think of that”!).

Be prepared to guide if asked and be quiet if not asked. (Can’t tell you how many times I opened my mouth and clamped it shut – and it all worked out just fine!)  If an argument starts, back down…there will be another meeting and by then things might have changed.  The most important thing you can do is smile and genuine smiles break most barriers! After all of you determine what kind of budget you can work with, then you can settle down to have the fun of planning the most important day of your little girl’s life.

Congratulations!
~Claudia Van Veen

This is just a graphic that I was going to use on my main Twitter handle page – @greenwed – But I felt it was way too much information!  I think it also gives people the illusion that I am doing all of this by myself and therefore must be insane!  Just looking at this graphic made me feel that way!

So…just so you know…I am not “cuckoo for cocoa puffs”, I do have a rather large staff, a book agent, publicist, stylist and wonderful little army of amazing interns (and we are growing).

Tara, our executive consultant on staff does a little tweeting @GreenWedTara and is mainly focused on the Elegance & Simplicity, Inc. aspect of life.  She is amazing.

We will be adding one more company to our line of services which we will unveil within the next month – so stay tuned!

Happy Planning!

~Katie Martin

I just got the jpeg from my publisher today for my first book cover! The Everything Mother of the Bride Book, 2nd Edition!  I am thrilled to share the cover with my avid blog readers first!  Well, my publicist did tweet about it first – sorry!  She’s my publicist – what can I say?  We are pretty excited over here!

Your emails have been so supportive. I just wanted to to send a big thanks to all of you!

So…I thought I would announce my first blog contest with this book cover announcement!!!!!!

Make a comment here about why your mom is the best mother of the bride.   The best comment (judging based on what my mom and I think) will get the following:

1. A signed copy of my book
2. $250 to go towards to your wedding budget

We have some time before my book gets here – so I am going to leave the contest open until March 15th.  Spread the word and start making comments. Good Luck!

When you leave a comment, I automatically have access to your email address – so be careful to write the right email address when asked so I can contact you if you win.

Stay tuned for Wednesday’s post!  If you haven’t heard or seen:  Every Wednesday my mom (Claudia Van Veen) comes on my blog and has a weekly Mother of the Bride Guest Post!  Super helpful for any mom prepping for a wedding.

Happy Planning!

~Katie Martin

UPDATE:  Thank you for all your comments!  We found our winner!